PETALING JAYA, Oct 21 — The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) will help Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) produce Malaysia’s first electric vehicle (EV) priced under RM100,000.

Its minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said the ministry is optimistic that Perodua will reach its target of producing the EV by the end of 2025.

"The reason why we want to assist and facilitate Perodua is because we want to make EVs affordable.

"Perodua has been in discussion with MITI, and we are optimistic with its plan of achieving its target by the end of 2025,” he said after the JAC Motors Brand Launch here today.

Tengku Zafrul also said that as of September 2024, almost 16,000 new passenger battery EVs (BEVs) were registered in Malaysia, surpassing roughly 13,000 BEVs registered throughout 2023.

"This positive momentum brings us closer to our target of 20 per cent of total industry volume comprising EVs by 2030,” he said.

On charging infrastructure, he noted that within just three months, 565 new chargers were added, bringing the total number of public charging stations to nearly 3,200 as at end of September.

"We aim to have 10,000 public chargers, reducing the ratio of chargers to EVs to one-to-nine (1:9) by the end of 2025,” he said.

According to Tengku Zafrul, Malaysia’s automotive industry continues to be a central pillar of our nation’s economy, contributing approximately four per cent to the country’s gross domestic product annually.

"With the rapid evolution of the EV market, Malaysia is well-poised to capture a significant share of the Asean EV market, projected to reach US$2.7 billion (US$1=RM4.29) by 2027,” he added. — Bernama